Goat hunt east of Unakwik Inlet has closed

Registration permit hunt RG251 for mountain goats in Game Management Unit 6D closed by emergency order Tuesday, Oct. 6. The closure is for areas east of Unakwik Inlet and Meares Glacier, west of the Columbia Glacier and south of the second branch of Columbia Glacier.

The 2019 aerial survey found a minimum of 459 goats in that permit area, according to Charlotte Westing, area wildlife biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Westing said the department then increased the maximum allowable harvest to 22 goat points and that the reported harvest is 19 billies. Each billy counts as one goat point and each nanny as two got points. Each unrecoverable goat counts as one and one-half points.

Hunters were still in the field as of Monday, Oct. 5, and it was likely that additional goats had been taken and not reported yet, so the end was concluded to avoid exceeding the allowable harvest goal.

The closure affected only registration permit hunt RG252 in Unit 6D. Other mountain goat hunting regulations in the remainder of Unit 6 were not affected by the closure.

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